Pile fabrics



Dec. 31, 1940. p MlLLER 2,226,531

FILE FABRICS Filed Match 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 FIG.

A 0%] #K/ I INVENT R. L M4 P ATTORNEY.

Dec. 31, 1940. p. M|L| ER 2,226,631

FILE FABRICS Filed March 17, 1937 V 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTQR. Lo-wlq. PMALZZUL if, W. Hoag- ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 31, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE PILE FABRICS poration of New York Application March 17, 1937, Serial No. 131,284

'7 Claims.

This invention'relates to textilesand particularly to pile or tufted fabrics and a method of producing such fabrics.

A special object of my invention is to provide an improved method of bonding or otherwise affixing the pile tufts, or loops of such fabrics to the body of the fabric, and to provide a superior product resulting therefrom.

One of the difflculties in the manufacture of pile fabrics has been to prevent the pile from pulling out of, or shifting its position in, the base material. To prevent this resort has been had to cementing the pile to a base material. In the prior manufacture of cemented pile fabrics a n5 coating of a cement of rubber or other composition has usually been applied to the entire base of the fabric to bind the enmeshed pile in place. This procedure makes it more difficult to clean the fabrics since the coating of cement over the bottom surface of the fabric closes the interstices of the fabric andopposes the passage of air through the base when the fabric is cleaned by vacuum, or of water or other fluid when the fabric is washed or scoured. Furthermore the application of cement to the base usually leaves a distinctly visible coating of the cementing material employed and lessens or destroys the desirable feel of uncemented fabrics. This procedure also has the further disadvantage that it requires the use of a large amount of cement, and the use of special mechanical equipment for applying the cement.

In carrying out my invention I interpose a soluble or thermoplastic material, such for example as cellulose acetate, between pile yarn and any suitable base material and use the interposed material to anchor the pile yarn to the base material. The soluble or thermoplastic material, may be introduced within the completed fabric in a variety of ways, depending on whether it is in liquid, solid, or a semi-plastic state. For the purpose of fully disclosing my invention I have described herein in detail a preferred embodiment of my invention which I carry out by inserting bonding means, which is wholly or partly fusible,

such as cellulose acetate yarns, or yarns comprising cellulose acetate, or other suitable fusible cementing material, within the body of the completed fabric and fusing it,i. e. rendering it more or less fluid by employing a suitable solvent, or heat, or other modifying agent, as ismore fully described herein, and indurating it after the cementing material has penetrated, or otherwise attached ltself to the pile yarn and the base i material.

The improved method disclosed herein produces a fabric, in which the pile yarns are firmly anchored, the cementing material is applied only to portions of the material permitting the free circulation of air, water, or other fluid through the base and thereby facilitating cleaning, and which requires less cement than present practice and leaves substantially no cement on either face of the fabric. It also permits the use of a more rigid cementing composition than is possible when the entire base of the fabric is coated or impregnated, as in the present practice.

My invention has the further advantage that it is readily adaptable for use with all of the ways of producing pile or tufted fabrics already known to those skilled in this art.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention are set out in the foilowing specification which discloses a preferred embodiment of the invention, but I, of course, do not wish to be restricted to the specific features herein described and I reserve the right to make changes within the scope and meaning of the broad terms of the claims appended hereto.

The invention will best be understood if the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein the same numerals indicate the same parts throughout and in which:

Figure 1 shows diagrammatically the construction of a so-called hooked or tufted rug which is made by inserting pile forming yarn through a' base material.

Figure 2 shows such fabric with loopsof pile yarn in place, and the means by which the loops or tufts are bonded or permanently fastened to the base material.

Figure 3 shows the fabric and the loops or tufts of pile yarn when the bonding thereof is completed.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a modification.

Figures 5 and 6 show other forms of bonding and cementing means.

Figures 7 and 8 indicate another modification of the method of inserting the binding and cementing means particularly useful when the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 are employed.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic representation of a 50 modification of my invention applied to a woven fabric.

In the drawings the numeral l identifies a piece of base material shown in edge view. Pile yarn 2 is inserted in the base material I to form pile in loops or tufts or combinations of the two. The yarn 2 may be inserted in the base material I in a large variety of ways, and yarns of different textures and colors may be used to secure various effects and designs. As illustrated in Figure 1 the pile yarn 2 is passed through the base material at spaced intervals from beneath the base material, in a series of loops which are connected by portions of the yarn remaining on the under side of the base fabric. The yarn 2 is drawn snugly against the under surface 3 of the base material while on the top surface the yarn is drawn out forming the upstanding loops 4.

The pile yarn 2 may be of any suitable fiber, or combination of fibers, and construction. As will be well understood by those skilled in the art, the tufts 6 may be formed by cutting loops I horizontally, a for example, along the line 5-5 of Figure -3.

My invention has special reference to the manner in which the pile yarn 2 is bonded to the fabric I to prevent the loops or tufts frohn shifting position in, or being pulled out of, the base material. I have found that very effective bonding can be obtained by inserting yarns I, (Figure 2) of suitable size, which are wholly or partly soluble, for example yarns made of, or comprising cellulose acetate, between the base material I and adjacent portions of pile yarn 2, and fusing them therebetween. Adhesion or fusion between the yarns I and the base material I and pile yarns 2 respectively may be obtained by treating the yarns I with a suitable solvent, or plasticizing agent, or a vapor of a solvent, alone, or mixed with air, or an inert gas, or with heat, or a combination of these or other suitable means. For example fusion of acetate yarns in the completed fabrics may be obtained by spraying the fabrics with acetone or hanging the fabrics in a room filled with acetone vapor.

In this manner the yarns l are rendered plastic,

soft and sticky and are caused to penetrate the pile yarns 2 and the base material I immediately adjacent thereto. The degree of penetration is controlled by the length of time the product is subjected to the plasticizing or fusing action. When the desired degree of penetration is secured the fully or partly fused material is indurated, in any suitable way, as by evaporation or cooling, thus firmly bonding the pile to the base fabric.

In the modification of my invention illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 I insert two yarns of acetate between the under surface 3 of the base material and the portions of the pile yarn 2 which lie below the base material and serve to join the loops 4, inserting the yarns initially'from opposite sides of a row of loops and crossing the yarns between successive loops. As illustrated in Figure 2 each yarn l is passed between, and on alternate sides of successive loops. It will thus be seen that the pair of yarns 1 act together to encircle the bottom portion or feet of each loop of pile yarn 4, and by properly regulating the tension of the yarns they may be made to constrict the base of each loop 4.

When the pile and the adhesive filaments are in position, the back or under surface of the product is wet with acetone alone or acetone which may contain a plasticizer such as dibutyl or dimethyl phthalate, and kept in a moist condition untilthe acetate yarn 1 softens or becomes plastic;. or the product may be enclosed within a chamber and subjected to acetone vapor, or heated, until the acetate yam 1, becomes plastic and penetrates the pile yarns and base material in the abutting pile yarn and base material into which it has penetrated.

Figure 3 is an illustration of the product after the acetate has been plasticized and indurated. The adhesive extends along both sides of each row of loops, around the sides of the loop, as at 8, and between the pile yarn 2 and under surface 3 of the base material, as at 9. Figure 3 shows the acetate exaggerated, for in reality it is not apparent after penetration.

It will be apparent that the hereinabove disclosed method of bonding the pile to the base material does not requirethe covering of the back or under surface of the material I with a continuous film of adhesive material. The bond obtained is very durable since cellulose acetate has good resistance to oxidation and therefore is not materially affected by aging or impaired by any of the materials now generally employed for cleaning such fabrics. My method has the further advantage that the acetate not only acts as a. bonding agent but also serves to shrink somewhat the portion of the base material with which it comes into contact thus causing it to draw around and engage the loops more closely.

As an alternative method of carrying out my invention I may make a pile fabric by covering part or all of a surface, as illustrated herein the lower surface, of the material I with a web of adhesive such as is indicated at 9a in Figure 4..

This web 9a. may extend over the whole or part of the back of the material and be put on before the loops 4 are stitched or otherwise inserted in the base material. The portions of the pile yarn on the under surface of the base material, interconnecting the loops, will therefore overlie a portion of web 9a and be bonded to the base material thereby when the web is fused therebetween..

Instead of yarns 1, bonding yarns made of fibers or filaments other than cellulose acetate, such for example as, cotton, wool, flax, or viscose, or cuprammonium rayon, or other fibers which will not become plastic under the same conditions as cellulose acetate, may be used and a coating of acetate or other suitable material applied thereto. In Figure 5 I have shown a composite bonding yarn comprising a basic yarn I nonsoluble in solvents for acetate, having thereon a' coating ll of acetate, and in Figure 6 I have shown a composite yarn comprisingthe yarn l0 having an acetate yarn l2 wound therearound. Composite bonding yarns such as are indicated in either Figures or.6 may be employed in the same way as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

The bond provided by fusing the adhesive coatmg l I will be reinforced by the mechanical gripping and binding provided by the unfused yarn III. A reinforced bond of this kind may be desirable in some instances, for example in bonding lofty or spongy pile yarn.

The grip which the bonding yarn exerts arbund the loops 4 may be increased in the manner illustrated in Figures 7 and 8. Here the bonding yarn Ill is disposed between the under surface 3 of the base material l and the pile yarns 2 and is not only crossed between each pair of loops but is twisted one half or more turns at the points of intersection, indicated at 912 in Figure 7, pro- In the embodiment of ducing a firm mechanical grip around the lower portion of the loops 4. The direction of the twist should preferably alternate between each pair of loops. A tight engagement of the loops by the binding yarns assists penetration of the bonding material into the engaged surface of the pile yarn. i

the invention shown in Figure 9 a double pile fabricis illustrated, woven in the usual manner consisting of two base fabrics composed of warp yarns I4 and (I5 and weft yarns l6 joined by pile warp yarns I! which are looped over weft yarns It. This fabricis split by a cutting means l8, as will be well understood by those skilled in the art, to form two base fabrics each with enmeshed pile, In carrying out this embodiment of the invention warp yarns I4 and I5, or weft yarns I6, or a combination thereof depending on the results desired, may comprise fusible material. For example either or both warp yarns l4 and I5, may be composite yarns having a fusible coating II, or weft yarns l6 comprising fusible material may be used alone, or in combination with composite warp yarns, or acetate filaments may be woven parallel to non-fusible warp or weft yarns. The remaining treatment is as above set forth.

Application of the method disclosed herein in the manufacture of a wide variety of fabrics, including for example terry-cloth, crash materials and the like is within the scope of the invention. Incarryingout theinventionany suitable .base materialmay be used, woven, or knitted materials, or felted materials, for example paper, or material which is not woven, knitted or felted, for example sheets of molded or extruded material such as sheets of cellulose acetate or regenerated cellulose. Similarly a wide variety of bonding agents may be employed. If in solid form one or more filaments. threads, yarns, cords, or wires, of any suitable material capable of being fused or rendered plastic, and indurated under conditions which will not injure the pile yarn or base material, may be used. If a fluid bonding agent is employed, such for example as a solution of cellulose acetate, it may be infected into the fabric to interengage the base'material and pile.

While in the embodiment of the invention described herein the point of principal lnterengagemcnt between the pile and base material is within the body of the completed material, between the pile yarn and the under surface of the base material, it may be desirable, as when using acetateto bond a fabric designed for particular- 1y severe use, to apply the adhesive on either or both surfaces of the base material. It-wlll be understood that the materials employed and the steps used in carryin out the invention may be widely varied and that it 'is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

what I claim is:

1. The method of making. pile fabrics which comprises inserting pile yarn through a previouslyrformed base material so that the pile extends outwardly from one face of the base material, crossing soluble filaments in front of the pile yarn on the opposite face of the base material, extending a length of the pile yarn over the crossed soluble filaments, again inserting the pile yarn through the base material, treating the crossed filaments to dissolve them, and thereafter indurating the dissolved material.

2. The method of making pile fabrics which comprises inserting pile yarn through a previousrial, tufts of pile yarn inserted through .hesive material the material between insertions of the yarn through the base material, and thereafter engaging it in the body of the fabric by extending a length of the pile yarn over the adhesive liberating material, liberating the adhesive and indurating it.

'3. The method of making pile fabric which comprises inserting pile yarn through a previously formed base material forminga loop projecting from one face of the base material and having leg portions extending from beneath the other face of the base material and loosely engaged in the base material, extending soluble filamentary members around said leg portions of. the loop on the said other face of the base material and crossing them in front of the pile yarn on the said other face ofthe base material, extending a length of the pile yarn over the crossed filamentary members, again inserting the pile yarn through the base material and dissolving the filamentary members and thereafter indurating the dissolved filamentary material.

4. The method of making pile fabric which comprises inserting pile yarn through a previously formed base material forming a loop projecting from one face of the base material and having leg portionssextending from beneath the other face of the base material and loosely engaged in the basematerial, extending adhesive liberating filamentary members aroundthe said' leg portions of the loop and crossing them in front of the pile yarn on the said other face of the base material, extending a length of the pile other face of the base material and loosely engaged in the base material, positioning cementing material in front of the pile yarn on the said other face ofthe base material, extending a .yarn over the crossed adhesive liberating filao length of pile yarn .over said cementing material and again inserting the pile yarn through the base material.

.6. A textile product comprising a base matesaid material and extending from one face of the material, lengths of pile yarn extendlngovei the opposite face of the material between tufts, and adhesive ,material substantially confined to the. areas between the said lengths of pile yarn overlying the base material and the base material.

'7. A textile product comprising a base material, tufts of pile yarn inserted through said ma terial and exteiiding from one face of the mate rial, lengths of pile yarn extending over the op-1 posite face of the material between tufts, and adsubstantially confined to the areas around the base of the tufts and between 70 thesaid lengths of pile yarn overlying the base material and the base material.

ours 2. mm. 

